Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

Posted on February 8, 2019 by opesopinions

Author: Carla Laureano
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Genre: Christian Fiction
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads: From the RITA Award-winning author of Five Days in Skye comes a sweet, romantic treat that will leave you hungry for more.

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country–an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-cafe in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

Ope’s Opinion: What a wonderfully sweet story. Yes, there is a love story, but there is also a story of a woman trying to figure out what her dreams are and how to achieve them. The guy is important, but so are her dreams, her friends and herself.

Carla Laureano can really write the most amazing stories that just flow. I start reading her story and it just sweeps me away to a place I don’t want to leave. Her characters feel real and I want to be their friend.

God is definitely a part of their lives – it feels genuine – not preachy or judgemental. This is the best Christian Fiction!

There is another Supper Club book coming out Spring of 2020.
It will be hard to wait until then!

Out Now

Posted on February 5, 2019 by opesopinions

Did you read Saturday Night Supper Club?
Do you enjoy foodie books? Christian Fiction?
Buy this one!

Goodreads: From the RITA Award-winning author of Five Days in Skye comes a sweet, romantic treat that will leave you hungry for more.

Thank you Kristin of Kritters Ramblings for sharing this book with me.

The Saturday Night Supper Club

Posted on February 1, 2019 by opesopinions

Author: Carla Laureano
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Genre: Christian Fiction
Source: Kristi ( Christmas gift )

Goodreads: Denver chef Rachel Bishop has accomplished everything she’s dreamed and some things she never dared hope, like winning a James Beard award and heading up her own fine-dining restaurant. But when a targeted smear campaign causes her to be pushed out of the business by her partners, she vows to do whatever it takes to get her life back … even if that means joining forces with the man who inadvertently set the disaster in motion.

Essayist Alex Kanin never imagined his pointed editorial would go viral. Ironically, his attempt to highlight the pitfalls of online criticism has the opposite effect: it revives his own flagging career by destroying that of a perfect stranger. Plagued by guilt-fueled writer’s block, Alex vows to do whatever he can to repair the damage. He just doesn’t expect his interest in the beautiful chef to turn personal.

Alex agrees to help rebuild Rachel’s tarnished image by offering his connections and his home to host an exclusive pop-up dinner party targeted to Denver’s most influential citizens: the Saturday Night Supper Club. As they work together to make the project a success, Rachel begins to realize Alex is not the unfeeling opportunist she once thought he was, and that perhaps there’s life–and love–outside the pressure-cooker of her chosen career. But can she give up her lifelong goals without losing her identity as well?

Ope’s Opinion: Oh, this was wonderful! I just finished it and I don’t know where to start to tell you all the things I really liked about it.

The characters were ones I want to be friends with – they have flaws, believe in God, and want what is best for each other. The story was perfectly paced – kept moving, but the relationships weren’t rushed. I really liked how independent the women were, but they weren’t bashing men.

Warning – there is a lot of food happening in this book, so you might get hungry!

This is the first of a series. I plan on reading the second one next. Carla Laureano’s writing flows – it is descriptive, but not so detailed you loose where the story is going.